A new sign of hope

‘What did you think of those students?’ Gary asked after we spent an hour at a forum at N. C. State University.

The students weren’t anything like politicians you watch on TV these days –– no one ranted, strutted; voices calm, when they disagreed, politeness held.

Gary saw that as a sign of better days ahead.

One student asked about the Senate race between Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley – by then videos were flying across social media showing Iryna Zarusky sitting alone in a lite-rail car in Charlotte, staring down at her cell phone, as behind her a man wearing an orange hoodie stood up holding a knife, stabbed her three times in the neck.

Trailing in the polls, seizing an opportunity, Michael Whatley posted on X: It’s pretty simple. A vote for Roy Cooper is a vote for more crime…

His campaign laid the blame on Cooper for her murder on Fox News.

Trump posted Iryna Zaruska’s blood is on Roy Cooper’s hands.

Shaking his head, Cooper replied, Only a DC insider would think it’s proper to use an innocent girl’s death to score political points.

J.D. Vance, angry, shot back, It wasn’t law enforcement that failed – it was weak politicians like Roy Cooper –– turning meaner, Whatley hit Cooper again: ‘You failed to do your job every day of the 39 years you were in office.’

That’s what we see in politics these days. Behind, to catch up, Whatley blamed Roy Cooper for a murder.

Gary was right: Those students were a sign of hope. But we’ve got a long way to go to get out of this ditch.

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Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.